NH1 News

CONCORD - Sen. Lindsey Graham will meet with New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse Thursday morning, as the Republican from South Carolina and potential GOP presidential candidate makes a two-day swing through the Granite State, NH1 News learned Tuesday.

Graham kicks off his latest visit to the first-in-the-nation primary state Wednesday evening, with a town hall meeting at Turbocam International in Barrington. The company, which makes component parts for aerospace, aviation and automotive and industrial applications, was visited last month by Sen. Ted Cruz, just days before the Texas Republican announced his bid for the White House.

Later Wednesday evening, Graham will be the main attraction at a Belknap County GOP meeting at the Top of the Town restaurant in Belmont.

Thursday Graham, who was re-elected last year to a third-term in the Senate, will hold private meetings and speak with the media, including a one-on-one interview with NH1 News. In the afternoon, Graham will team up with Sen. Kelly Ayotte for a tour of New Hampshire Ball Bearing in Laconia. The event with the Granite State's Republican U.S. senator is listed as an official Senate event.

Since launching a committee to test the waters for White House run, Graham's made two visits to New Hampshire. He headlined the Politics and Eggs series and spoke at a St. Patrick's Day breakfast and roast in Nashua.

In an interview with NH1 News, Graham vowed that "I will be up here a lot. This is a place that is an antidote to big money. If it wasn't for New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina, you could buy the White House. The only way a guy like me would have a chance is to come here, make fun of myself and others, and do a lot of town hall meetings and check me out as to whether or not I'm prepared to be commander-in-chief on day one, cause I think the last guy we hired, quite frankly, didn't have the background for the job he has today."

And Graham, who's long served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is known for his foreign police expertise, told reporters that "this is going to be a national security election. We're going to be looking at somebody who can actually bring us together and not talk about it. Governors have a lot of good things to say about leading a state. At the end of the day I've spent a lot of my time trying to defend the threats we face as a nation."